5.3 Gender and the Developing World
Essential Questions:
- How does gender affect global and regional development?
- What is the role of the international community in promoting and protecting women's rights?
On this page you may choose ONE of the TWO discussion posts and respond on my discussion page. You do not have to do both!!
Part I Grandmothers and Survival
Throughout the various units in this class certain themes may begin to emerge. The poor people on the planet are living much harder lives and the wealthy or developed world has advantages that are in many cases leading to excess that is unsustainable. Examining the factors that help to promote successful development leads one to understand that true improvement takes many years and cannot usually
be achieved in one generation. Those realizations have led many development specialist to begin focusing on factors that already exist within societies that will allow them to "take charge" of their own futures. While issues such as disease, corruption, and lack of education are all stacked against many people, they do have some inherent advantages. One of the the most important turns out to be a very simple thing; grandmothers! Grandmothers seem to have a key role in child survival and according to some studies are the most important factor in a young person's life after their mother. Read the attached article to examine this important factor and then visit my discussion page to respond to this question.
Evaluate the key reasons that grandmothers are a critical link between young children and survival. What factors increase the need for grandmothers and how do men such as fathers and grandfathers fit into the equation?
Part II Literacy and Development
Women constitute one half of the world’s population,
they do two-thirds of the world’s work,
they earn one tenth of the world’s income and
they own one hundredth of the world’s property including land.
Source: United Nations (1979) State of the World’s Women, Voulntary Fund for the UN Decade for Women, New York
The importance of literacy as a skill may be just as important as the presence of a grandmother for the survival of a woman in a developing society. While the process is not as immediate or easily implemented the results for entire regions can be transformational. All aspects of a young girl's life can be altered in a positive manner through the process of education. The impact cannot be overstated:
As you know, the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to two individuals that have worked to improve the lives of women in the developing world. One of them Malala Yousafzai, was actually the victim of an assassination attempt by a Taliban group that viewed her message as dangerous to their primitive beliefs about women and society. Here is an extended interview with John Stewart of the Daily Show. Read the attached article to examine this important factor and then visit my discussion page to respond to this question.
Evaluate the critical importance of women's literacy in the developing world and identify the biggest obstacles to spreading eduction to remote undeveloped parts of the world.
Mr. Peter Sontheimer
American and World History Teacher
Gettysburg Area High School